Jen+K's+YAL+Workspace

I will track my YAL books in a virtual journal (google doc). [|Virtual Journal] > **Comment:** //Hi, Jen, If you could link your Google doc here, that would be great. you can still limit who you share it with (me:). Be sure you are keeping track of the list of books you read as well (by genre). This can be a separate list, like the one I provided in class, or it can be integrated in with your virtual journal. Thanks! Dr. Y//

Pre-reading definition: I think of young adult literature as fiction that caters to 12- to 17-year-olds in content, language, and form. It deals with topics of relevance to adolescents - e.g. peer groups and friendships, navigating through an adult world, developing a sense of identity, etc - and is written using language that is accessible to young people growing up in a particular time and place.

Reading Notes:
 * Common characteristics of YAL: conflict, themes of interest to young people, protagonists and characters are young adults, language parallels that of young people
 * p. 3 "It seems schools have accomplished the opposite of what they intended to do: They have turned students off from reading rather than made them lifelong readers. Teachers have failed to choose literature that enables students to become emotionally and cognitively involved in what they read." (e.g. most students cannot relate to classical literature)
 * Piaget - most young adults in the concrete or formal operational stage of development; for concrete thinkers think logically, classify, understand relationships. Formal operational thinkers think abstractly, hypothesize.
 * Middle School appropriate themes: relatable characters and experience (e.g. prejudice), humor; High School appropriate themes: what if? weight, heroes, controversial social issues, moral dilemmas, etc
 * Developmental Tasks: 1) Achieving Mature Relations with Age-Mates, 2) Achieving Proper Masculine or Feminine Social Role 3) Adapting to Physical Changes 4) Independence from Parents and Adults 5) Preparing for Marriage and Family 6) Preparing for a Career 7) Acquiring a Personal Ideology 8) Achieving Social Responsibility
 * Moral Development - Piaget, Kohlberg, Gilligan
 * Reading Stages - chronological age more important than reading level; reading preferences also determined by culture (e.g. gender differences); most young adults choose books based on subject matter rather than literary merit, language difficulty, or complexity of the story. 1) unconscious delight 2) vicarious experiences 3) ability to see themselves in what they read 4) attention shifts to wider society, happenings of the world 5) aesthetic delight, more focus on the art -its style, thematic structure, etc.
 * Meeting the needs of special students: at-risk students need literature that allows them to better relate to the characters and plot; gifted students - reading selections should also be based on what they choose to read, what they can relate to; gifted readers shouldn't necessarily be asked to read the classics.

Post-reading definition: Young adult literature is literature students between the ages of 12 and 17 //choose// to read because the subject matter is meaningful to them and the characters are relatable. (Note: my post-definition is intentionally brief, because the characteristic that stood out to me most in my reading this week was the idea of choice - YAL is literature students //choose// to read).

I__n-Class Response Activity 8-24-17__: //The Westing Game//, by Ellen Raskin. Recommended to me by a colleague who used to teach high school English. Falls into the genre of mystery, and I have to admit, the first few pages are confusing, but in a way that grabs the reader's attention. The stage is set - an unusual new apartment complex, rented to pre-selected tenants, next to a Mansion inhabited by a grumpy millionaire assumed to be dead. The young protagonists dare one another to break into the mansion, despite stories/myths of other such adventurers going crazy, and running out of the house soaked in blood. The protagonists are young adults themselves, which makes this a good choice for the young reader, but it's unclear what the overarching theme will be, and how relatable young adults will find the subject matter.

>> **Comment:** //My higher-level middle school readers loved this book!//

__Response to Chapter 11__. Although at times it feels as if I came of age in the 14th century, I was fortunate enough to grow up in the 1970s and 80s, just as literature for young adults shifted from a focus on traditional social behavior and morals to realism, and a more accurate portrayal of the daily lives of adolescents. Some of the Judy Blume novels, as well as //To Kill a Mockingbird// (still a favorite as an adult), //The Outsiders//, and //The Catcher in the Rye a//re a few of my more memorable reads. But my parents also introduced me to young adult literature from an earlier time; the //Adventures of Tom Sawyer// and //Huck Finn,// //Robin Hood//, //Black Beauty, Little Women, a//nd //Robinson Crusoe,// to name a few//.// I never felt pressured to read in order to learn how to behave or to develop certain values, but my parents didn't promote reading for fun either. It always felt like an activity my brother and I pursued to help us become better students. I will have to fight against that mindset (or at the very least, keep in check) as a teacher. More significantly, though, because I came of age so long ago, there is little overlap between the books I read as a young adult and those young people are reading today. Honestly, I've had little exposure to YAL (apart from the classics), and as a result, I feel like I have A LOT of catching up to do!

>> **Comment:** //We seem to be close to the same age with some crossover in the books we read. For me, the motive was escape -- reading YAL became a means of escape from a dysfunctional family environment and enter new worlds. My sister seemed to become a reader much later than I did -- I think it is neat that you describe the experience as more of a tandem for you and your brother. The great thing about YAL is that you can dive right in! Don't think of it as having to catch up as much as just diving in and beginning the process of finding new treasures to read and add to your repertoire! That is part of the agenda of the course -- to allow for this! :) Best, Dr. Y//

__Response to Chapter 2 (Bushman & Haas)__. As a reader, I think my number one criterion in choosing what to read and/or continuing reading is whether or not the story is one I can relate to, whether or not it has personal meaning for me. But, on the other hand, a meaningful story poorly written isn't going to resonate the same way as a meaningful story well-written. The book has to have a strong architecture as well. Many of the elements of this architecture are invisible to the reader - that is, they carry the story along by drawing attention to the overarching meaning, the book's gestalt, rather than it's individual elements. It is precisely because they are "invisible" that a story works. Bushman and Haas provide a comprehensive summary of these building blocks of a good story - plot, character, setting, point of view, theme, style, and other literary devices like foreshadowing, flashback, humor, allusion and metaphor.

The "building block" I've thought about most during my first few weeks of reading YAL is point of view; by coincidence, the first two books I selected to read were both written in the third person (though not necessarily omniscient narration). Once I began reading more books, all of them written in the first person, I realized how much more effective first-person narration is in creating adolescent voice and perspective. Wodham and Ostenson (2013) argue that the "defining characteristic [of YAL] is that these books tell their story from a teenager's point of view" (p. 4). And Bushman and Haas (2006) concur that "the first-person narrative point of view tends to connect more personally with the young adult reader. A bonding occurs between the young adult character and the reader" (p. 37). Even adult literature today is increasingly written from the first-person perspective...

Integrated throughout Bushman and Haas's discussion of the elements of a good story was an emphasis on realism. Do the story always have a happy ending, or is it sometimes ambiguous, the way endings in real life often are? Are the character's relationships with one another believable? (e.g. how do adolescents and parents interact?) Do characters speak they way they would in the real world? Does the book address universal values and human conditions? As we evaluate YAL as teachers, these are the questions we should ask ourselves first, perhaps, even as we evaluate plot, characters, setting, and point of view. But the litmus test to which we should always is whether or not our students enjoyed reading it; analyzing why or why not may be less important.

>> **Comment:** //Nice job of capturing the essence of the chapter here. And, your closing comment is so on point! With that in mind, I think we also have to consider our role in providing opportunities for mirrors and also windows with regard to the reading our students do. We'll talk about those metaphors soon! Best, Dr. Y.// >> >> __Response to Chapter 6 and Chapter 11__: When I was in high school, most of my teachers followed the one book, one class rule. I remember having a choice once in 9th grade, but it was still basically "one book, one class" and we were only given a choice between two books - if we chose one book, we went with teacher A for four weeks, if we chose the other, we went with teacher B. Funny thing is, I can't for the life of me remember the book I chose to read, I only remember the book I didn't choose, which was Mark Twain's //Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court//. I think the title of Twain's book intimidated me (all things medieval were foreign to me, and I never knew if the Knights of the Round table was a true story or a myth), which is both why I didn't choose it and why I remember it. Ironically, Twain's novel is one of the first I read in the first English class I took at UNC-Chapel Hill as an adult student, which is when I rediscovered my enjoyment/passion for literature. I wrote a paper comparing Hank Morgan to Bartleby, arguing that both were benevolent rationalists who were defeated by irrationality, individual will, and superstition.

I don't remember any of our units in high school being organized thematically, certainly never around a single unifying question or idea, and most of the activities that accompanied our reading were writing activities - analytical papers, book reports, etc. Drama, art, creative writing, mock interviews with authors, and the like were never incorporated into the curriculum. I do remember my 11th grade English teaching donning a veil one day while we were reading "The Minister's Black Veil," the main effect of which was to make her students even more afraid of her than we already were. But students themselves never "performed" the things we were reading. Students in my classes all seemed to be of similar abilities too (at least from my limited student's perspective), so I don't think the teacher ever felt she needed to assign works catered to different reading levels.

In terms of teaching, I really like the idea of organizing a unit (across the span of a marking period) according to a single unifying theme or question - e.g. what is beauty? how do you define friendship? Does money buy happiness? - and selecting several texts of different genres to help students formulate their own answers to these questions. I always feel like I'm a better reader when I'm reading with "a purpose" - and by that I don't mean necessarily with an end in mind, or that I'm not also enjoying the reading in and of itself - but when I'm writing a paper with an organizing idea, I get much more out of a second or third reading of the text when I'm looking for evidence to support or refute the argument. The argument I'm trying to form always help me engage with the text at a much deeper level than the reading of it alone.

As a teacher, I think I'll try to strike a balance between giving students choice and assigning particular texts. I imagine I'll use the one book, one class model for certain texts, given students of different reading abilities a choice of three or four texts for other units, and even allow students unlimited choice for other units. I also think its critical to give students choice in how they respond to texts. We as teachers worry that forcing students to read classics turns them off to reading, but it's just as likely (at least in my personal experience) that the activities students are forced to do in response to reading turn them off to reading (and not the actual reading itself. How ironic is that!?) With the exception of writing, of course. I will require written responses for some units, more choice (e.g. drama, creative writing response, artwork, etc) for others.

__Reader Response Strategies for "The Fun they Had."__

1) Ask students to bring in a "relic from the past," - either one from the era in which the short story was written (e.g. 1950s) or one from their parent's era. For example, they might bring in a floppy disk, a walkman, a typewriter ribbon, or a kitchen utensil no longer in use. Ask them to write a paragraph describing both their own and their parent's "reaction" to the relic. How are their reactions different or similar? Have students share their writing/reactions in pairs, ask a few brave students to share with the entire class. Use as an icebreaker, an opportunity to have fun and laugh at previous generation's antiquated ways. But perhaps also pose a question - are there certain "relics" still in use even though there are more efficient/better quality ways to do things? (e.g. reel lawn mowers, records, hand juicers vs. electronic) Ask students to consider why people might prefer one over the other...

2) Read aloud. The story is short and wouldn't take much time to read again in class. For students who may have skimmed it or not done the reading at all, reading in class puts everyone on an level playing field and gives everyone an opportunity to participate fully. Ask one or two students to read the entire story aloud, rather than asking each student to read one or two lines (I personally feel like asking everyone to read might distract students from giving the story their full attention - shifting from one reader to the next can be disorienting, and I would guess some students are anxious waiting for their turn to read, and therefore don't pay attention at all).

3) Response Journal. Ask students to write in their journals for 10 minutes. Use specific prompts related to the themes of the short story. One prompt might be: People learn better alone (or with other people); do you agree or disagree? Do people or computers make better teachers? What are some of the dangers of technology?

4) Pair with novel about dystopian future (resulting from changes in technology - e.g. Feed). Ask students to compare dystopian futures described in short story and novel. How is the dystopian future imagined in short story (e.g. being taught by computers, e-books overtaking real books) compare to present day? What does this suggest about our imagined futures today?

5) You could also use the short story as a starting off point for larger discussion about education more generally. Ask students to read non-fiction book on critique of current school system, or history of compulsory schooling. They could bring in songs or films that represent cultural protests of education, and you could end the unit by asking them to design/outline features of their ideal educational setting.

6) Ask students to write a poem titled "Ode to a Dusty Book." Discuss theme of Keat's original poem - objects of past are "timeless", live for an eternity. Ask students to consider importance of tangible, physical objects as links to past. What is lost/gained by having only digital footprints? Things of the different senses engaged, how does this alter our experience of digital v. physical objects of past?

__Response to Chapter 4__: Because I graduated from high school nearly 30 years ago, my memories are foggy. :) But it's my recollection that I had little choice in what I wrote in high school, my teachers emphasized the analytical essay (over other forms of writing like journals, creative writing, poems, etc). I do remember an emphasis on grammar (especially in 7th and 8th grade) but I think most of my writing exercises were always tied to reading (e.g. in response to what we read). Perhaps my high school was progressive in that respect...

Also, Bushman and Haas suggest that prior to 2000, many literature anthologies were organized chronologically, and divided into American and British literature. Writing assignments were often used to check comprehension, or to emphasize the "right" interpretation. Honestly, I do remember my anthologies being organized this way in high school - we studied American and British literature separately (and no other "kind" of literature existed!) - but I never had the experience of being told how to interpret what I read (at least, not to my recollection).

Takeaways/Notes:

a) Literature, along with the theme approach (if it is used), provides the needed context in which to write and learn about writing. Don't teach writing in isolation! b) Don't necessarily need a grammar book to teach writing; by studying literature, students can become more attuned to choices authors make regarding metaphor, simile, dialogue, imagery, etc (e.g. grammatical knowledge base doesn't transfer to writing skills) c) Writing should bring together what students are reading and their lived experiences in their own world. d) schemata theory, transactional theory both explain reading-writing connection e) put into practice - buddy journals, literature groups, peer-editing, peer-sharing f) I like this - children learn best in low-risk environments where exploration is accepted. g) Don't rely entirely on essays. Encourage other kinds of writing like poems, short stories, creative assignments h) writing improves when you talk about it first, write second i) incorporate writing activities throughout the reading experience - before, during, and after the reading of a piece (e.g. biopoem as post-writing activity, p. 99, responding to individual passages in book that are particularly thought-provoking, study of the imagery in piece and how it relates to meaning, what happens after novel ends,

In-class activity: Bio-poem based on characters in short story, found poetry (based on phrases in novel) relate it to symbolism, larger meaning of story, pre- and post-reading activities. Ask them to think about ideal educational environment prior to reading, or dangers of relying to heavily on technology, do people learn better alone or with other people?

In class exercise 10/12/17

The Hate You Give -

1) Dialect, code switching - talks one way around white friends, another way around black friends 2) How does language relate to power in this book? how can it be used for/against certain cause.

1) analyze book from historical/biographic perspective, have to look at it in context of time in which it was written. 2) reader response - 3) moral - family's decision to leave neighborhood? Do you stay for greater good? Leave for family's sake?

October 28, 2017 Homework: "Choose one of the chapters listed below to read, reflect upon, and then "teach" to your YAL small group. Compose a brief summary and a reflection of your take-aways on your wiki work space." I chose Chapter 9, "One Teacher to One Student with One Powerful Strategy" by Harvey Daniels in Beers, Probst, and Rief.

Chapter 9, “One Teacher to One Student with One Powerful Strategy,” written by veteran teacher Harvey Daniels, is an epistolary chapter. That is, it’s written as a series of letters from Harvey to his colleagues, from Harvey to his students, and from Harvey, to us, the reader. The reason he writes the chapter as a series of letters is because the “one powerful classroom strategy” he’s advocating is exactly that – the power of written correspondence between teacher and student. In other words, “the passing of notes.” If students already pass notes to one another, Harvey argues, why not capitalize on the practice in our instruction. Note passing might an anachronistic practice today – don’t students rely almost exclusively on text? Snapchat? Twitter? – but that doesn’t preclude teachers from appropriating it for our own use. Indeed, there are many benefits to letter writing…

As a novice teacher, Harvey began the practice of letter writing mostly to personalize instruction and get to know his students better. He made some rookie mistakes – all of his students wrote to him at one time, making it impossible for him to respond in a timely matter, to name one – but he realized that students were often willing to share in writing what they wouldn’t say out loud. Still, he was concerned that the correspondence wasn’t //teaching// anything, and he wanted to make it a more academically substantive exercise. He cites colleague Nancy Atwell as someone who helped him transition his notes to students from mere conversation to discussions about their lives as readers and writers. “I explicitly reframed [my letters] as //book talk//. I became far more mindful and intentional…and I began asking hard questions and offering more suggestions about their writing and reading lives” (p. 132). Harvey then shares examples of notes exchanged between colleague and Chemistry teacher Angie Andrews and her students.

The chapter ends with practical advice for implementing the practice in our classrooms, as well as an outline of the myriad benefits that result. Guidelines and helpful tips include:
 * Lay the ground rules. Make sure students know what is relevant and appropriate for this kind of conversation.
 * Keep the door open to conversations about personal issues, but try to center the dialogue around class content.
 * Set a timetable, finding a balance between regular communication, and giving everyone (teachers and students) enough time to write thoughtful, unhurried notes.
 * Be yourself, write informally, and don’t worry about being 100% grammatically correct.
 * Don’t correct students’ notes or ever use a red pen to respond. Correspondence shouldn’t be graded though you may want to give credit for participation.

A few of the benefits of letter writing include:
 * You get to know students individually and they get to know you.
 * You have an opportunity to hear from students who are less willing to speak in class.
 * You receive helpful hints on how to individualize instruction for your students.
 * You get feedback on your teaching.
 * You can use your own notes to model good writing and the writing process.

The second half of my assignment was the interlude following chapter 9, titled “Reading with Adolescents,” by Deborah Appleman. Appleman specializes in helping teachers utilize literary theory in the classroom and encouraging kids to read recreationally in nonacademic settings. She summarizes the lessons she’s learned throughout her career.
 * Students are constantly reading the world, and looking for interpretive tools to help them make sense of it.
 * Students want schoolwork that matters, that they feel is important and that they feel important doing. “Constructing significance in their work is not simply a matter of having them read more contemporary texts. It is a matter of creating and re-creating fresh and unrehearsed opportunities to make discoveries about texts, about language, about the world, and about themselves” (p. 144).
 * Don’t underestimate adolescents. Adolescents are skilled at reading and interpreting texts; while acknowledging their skill, teachers still have a responsibility as the most experienced reader and interpreter in the room. We are not simply co-learners.
 * Students won’t necessarily like the same books we do.
 * No one is too old to have someone read aloud to them.
 * The classroom isn’t always the best place to discuss literature. We need to be more willing to create spaces for students to read without us.

My reflections and take-aways from Chapter 9: My reflections and take-aways from the interlude:
 * Regular letter writing to students is a powerful tool for personalizing and individualizing instruction. Personalization and individualization lead to greater investment in classroom work for both teacher and student.
 * We owe it to our students to hold them to high standards. We do them a disservice if we expect too little.
 * We should recognize students’ ability to read, interpret, and respond to literature, while “privileging” our own position as teachers, whose responsibility is to guide, inspire, and instruct them.